Passports

Citizens of the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and British subjects need a valid passport to enter Norway. You need to apply for a visa only if you want to stay more than 3 months.

For an up-to-date, country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to the International Travel Web page of the U.S. Department of State at http://travel.state.gov (click on "International Travel for U.S. Citizens").

It's always wise to have plenty of documentation when traveling with children in today's world. For changing details on entry requirements for children traveling abroad, go to the U.S. Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov, and click on "Children & Family."

A British Visitor's Passport is also valid for holidays and some business trips of less than 3 months. The passport can also include your spouse, and it's valid for 1 year. Apply in person at a main post office in the British Isles, and the passport will be issued that day.

Your current domestic driver's license is acceptable in Norway. An international driver's license is not required.

Customs

What You Can Bring into Norway -- With certain food exceptions (such as meat, meat products, and cheese), personal effects intended for your own use can be brought into Norway. If you plan to take them with you when you leave, you can bring in cameras, binoculars, radios, portable TVs, and the like, as well as fishing and camping equipment. Visitors of all nationalities can bring in 200 cigarettes, or 250 grams of tobacco and 200 sheets of cigarette paper, or 50 cigars; and 1 liter of spirits or 1 liter of wine. Upon leaving, you can take with you up to NOK25,000 ($5,000/£2,500) in Norwegian currency.

What You Can Take Home from Norway
U.S. Residents -- Returning U.S. residents who have been away for at least 48 hours are allowed to bring back, once every 30 days, $800 worth of merchandise duty-free. You'll be charged a flat rate of 4% duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases. Any dollar amount beyond that is dutiable at whatever rates apply. On mailed gifts, the duty-free limit is $200. Be sure to have your receipts or purchases handy to expedite the declaration process. Note: If you owe duty, you are required to pay on your arrival in the United States, by cash, personal check, government or traveler's check, or money order, and in some locations a Visa or MasterCard.

To avoid having to pay duty on foreign-made personal items you owned before you left on your trip, bring along a bill of sale, insurance policy, jeweler's appraisal, or receipts of purchase. Or you can register items that can be readily identified by a permanently affixed serial number or marking -- think laptop computers, cameras, and CD players -- with Customs before you leave. Take the items to the nearest Customs office or register them with Customs at the airport from which you're departing. You'll receive, at no cost, a Certificate of Registration, which allows duty-free entry for the life of the item.

With some exceptions, you cannot bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the United States. For specifics on what you can bring back and the corresponding fees, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov. Or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8867), and request the pamphlet.

Canadian Residents -- For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet Be Aware and Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca). Canada allows its residents a C$750 exemption, and adults are allowed to bring back duty-free one carton of cigarettes, one can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars. In addition, you're allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided they're unsolicited and don't contain alcohol or tobacco (write on the package "Unsolicited gift, under C$60 value"). Declare all valuables on the Y-38 form before departure from Canada, including serial numbers of valuables you already own, such as expensive foreign cameras. Note: The C$750 exemption can be used only once a year and only after an absence of 7 days.

U.K. Residents -- U.K. residents who are returning from a European Union country go through a separate Customs Exit (the "Blue Exit") especially for E.U. travelers. In essence, there is no limit on what you can bring back from an E.U. country, as long as the items are for personal use (this includes gifts) and you have already paid the necessary duty and tax. However, Customs law sets out guidance levels. If you bring in more than these levels, you may be asked to prove that the goods are for your own use. Guidance levels on goods bought in the E.U. for your own use are 3,200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos, 3 kilograms of smoking tobacco, 10 liters of spirits, 90 liters of wine, 20 liters of fortified wine (such as port or sherry), and 110 liters of beer.

For information, contact HM revenue Customs at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 02920/501-261), or visit www.hmrc.gov.uk.

Australian Residents -- The duty-free allowance in Australia is A$900. Residents can bring in 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of loose tobacco, and 2.25 liters of alcohol. If you're taking valuables you already own, such as foreign-made cameras, you should file form B263. A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-63, or go to www.customs.gov.au.

New Zealand Residents -- The duty-free allowance for New Zealand is NZ$700. Residents 18 and over can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture of all three, if their combined weight doesn't exceed 250g); plus 4.5 liters of wine and beer or 1.125 liters of liquor. New Zealand currency does not carry import or export restrictions. Fill out a certificate of export listing the valuables you are taking out of the country; that way, you can bring them back without paying duty. Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice No. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs Service, the Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.